10 Worst Reasons People Have Called 911

Butt-dialing is a hazard for some cell phone owners. And it can be a real problem for stupid crooks. iStock/Thinkstock

If you take one lesson from this article, let it be this: lock your keypad! A shocking number of fumbling thieves and drug dealers have accidentally dialed 911 while openly discussing their recent or ongoing criminal behavior.

In July 2013, 911 dispatchers in Oklahoma picked up what appeared to be a dropped call. Then they overheard muffled voices saying not-suspicious-at-all stuff like, "I didn't get through half the house," and "We're good. I got enough jewelry. We're good." Cops picked up the brainiac crooks trying to pawn the stolen booty [source: Maune].

Earlier the same year, 911 dispatchers in Fresno, Calif., were dumbfounded to overhear a conversation between two dudes as they hatched a half-baked plan to break into a car; proceeded to break into said car; and announced loudly that they had found prescription drugs. ("They're Norcos, yeee-ahhh!") They then sped away [source: Burton]. The dispatchers continued to listen in — giggling, we assume — as the cops pulled the suspects over and arrested them.